Astro Signs Agreement with NDS
15 November
2007:
Measat Broadcast Network Systems, owner
and operator of Malaysian pay-TV
service Astro and NDS Group plc have signed contracts for the
licensing and
deployment of the VideoGuard® conditional access system
(VideoGuard CAS) for its
Direct-to-Home Pay TV services. The company plans to progressively
migrate its
satellite Pay TV services to the VideoGuard CAS. This follows
Astro’s deployment
since 1999 of the Mediahighway® middleware (owned by NDS)
as its operating
system for its set top boxes. The utilization of VideoGuard
CAS will provide Astro
with a single and consolidated CAS/middleware provider resulting
in enhanced ability
to leverage functionality between the two technologies, cost
efficiencies and speed to
market.
About Astro
Astro is Malaysia’s leading multimedia broadcaster and
producer of Malay, Chinese, Indian and
English language programming content. It owns and operates the
only direct-to-home satellite TV
service with access to some 10 million viewers in over 2 million
homes, representing 38% of TV
homes in Malaysia, making it the one of the largest multi-channel
TV businesses in Asia. It currently
offers over 100 TV channels, including 25 Astro-branded channels
of original and aggregated content
of various genres in multiple languages. The service also provides
a range of interactive TV content
and services.
Astro is the trademark of Measat Broadcast Network Systems,
a subsidiary of ASTRO ALL ASIA
NETWORKS plc. The Group operates out of the All Asia Broadcast
Centre, a fully-integrated digital
broadcast and production complex in Kuala Lumpur.
For more information, please visit www.astro.com.my.
About NDS
NDS Group plc (NASDAQ: NNDS), a majority owned subsidiary of
News Corporation, supplies open end-to-end digital technology
and services to digital pay-television platform operators and
content providers.
See www.nds.com for
more information about NDS.
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Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-looking
Statements
This document may contain certain “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management’s
views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance
as of the time the statements are made. Actual results may differ
materially from these expectations due to changes in global economic,
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detailed information about these and other factors that could affect
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and Exchange Commission. Any “forward-looking statements” included
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and we do not have any obligation, nor do we undertake, to publicly
update any “forward-looking statements” to reflect
subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.
For further information:
| Astro |
|
| David Yap |
T: +603 9543 6688 |
| Director, Corporate Communications & Community Affairs |
david_yap@astro.com.my |
| |
|
| NDS |
|
| Cynthia Ritchie |
T: +44 (0)20 8476 8378 |
| Director, Corporate Communications |
critchie@nds.com |
| |
|
| Breakaway Communications for NDS |
|
| Kelly Fitzgerald |
T: +1 212 616 6006 |
| Managing Director |
kfitz@breakawaycom.com |
| |
|